Folding seat.



No. 876,367. PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908. E. LINDOW,

FOLDING SEATe APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29, 1906.

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EDWARD LINDOW, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

FOLDING SEAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14;, 1908.

Application filed June 29, 1906. Serial No. 323.979.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that L EDWARD LINDOW, a citizen of the United States, residing at T0- ledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Folding Seats; and I do dec are the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, ref erence being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of seats which may be folded to and from horizontal position, and which may be thrown up- Wardly and backwardly against a wall or partition or other upright structure, out of the way when not in use.

My invention is designed to furnish a construction which shall be simple, cheap,

strong, and durable, and in which the seat is automatically maintained in upright .folded position without the use of spring, detent, hook or other retaining device.

My invention is particularly well adapted for use in series or rows, as in halls, steamboat cabins, and in other places where it is desirable to have seats occupy as little space as possible when not in use.

1 attain these objects by means of the de vices and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and shown, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my folding seat, the dotted lines illustrating the position of the parts when the seat is in folded elevated position, and Fig. 2, a front elevation of the same, showing the arrangement of a series of my seats.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in both views.

In the drawings, 1 is a seat which may be upholstered or plain and of any desired material. Beneath the rear part of the seat, at opposite sides, are secured plates 2. Each of these plates is provided with a laterally projecting pin 3 which engages and slides in a slot or groove 4 in a wall-plate 5, of which there are two, secured at top and bottom to the wall at opposite sides of and behind the seat. When a series of these seats is employed, each of the wall-plates .has slots or grooves for the reception of the pins 3 at its opposite sides, so that one wall-plate will serve for two adjoining seats, as illustrated in the drawing of the wall-plate, at the right; in Fig. 2.

6 is a leg pivoted at its upper end, as at 7, to the seat or to a plate 8 secured thereto, at its under side near its forward edge. At its lower end the leg 6 is pivotally connected, as at 9, to a lloor-bracket 10, rigidly secured to the [loor the pivot 9 being removed such distance from the wall that the pins 3 slide in their slots or grooves in a plane back of the pivot.

The operation of my device is as follows: When the seat is horizontally disposed and in position to be occupied, the pins 3 rest in the bottom of the slots 4 thus supporting the rear edge of the seat. The legs. 6 are forwardly inclined as braces and support the forward edge of the seat. when it is desired to place the seat in vertical position, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the operator seizes the sides of the seat near its rear edge and lifts the back of the seat directly upwardly, the pins 3 sliding in their grooves to the upper ends of the grooves 4. As the back of the seat moves upwardly the leg (5 swings upon its pivots so that the under side of the seat is thrown against the wall with the front edge downward. As the brackets 10 and, pivots 9 are placed some distance from the wall, the legs are now inclined backwardly, as braces, and the seat is thus, by its own weight, held from falling into horizontal position. \Vhen it is desired to restore the seat to its horizontal position the bottom or front edge of the seat is pulled outwardly so that the center of gravity is forward of the pivot 9. Now the seat will, by its own weight, drop into horizontal position.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. In a folding device of the character described, a seat, a pair of legs pivoted at their upper ends to the lower part of the seat near its forward edge, llo u'-b.rackets, pivotal conncctions between the floor-brackets and the lower end of the legs, upright guides at the rear of and. above the horizontal plane of the scat, said pivotal connections being disposed in advance of the plane of said upright guides and. means upon the seat for slidably engaging said guides.

2.' In a folding device of the described character, a seat, a pair of legs disposed at opposite sides of the seat pivotal con nections between the upper ends of the legs and the seat near its forward edge, a pair of floorbrackets adapted to be rigidly secured to a floor, a pair of slotted guide-plates adapted to be secured to a wall at opposite sides of and to'the' rear of and above the" horizontal plane of the seat, said floor-brackets and slotted guide plates being disposed in different vertical planes, and laterally projecting pins at the rear of the seat engaged with and adapted to slide in the slots of said plates.

3. In a folding device of the described character, a series of seats disposed side by side, a pair of legs for each seat, pivotal connections between the upper end of the legs and the forward part of the seat, pivotal connections between the lower end of the legs and the'floor, an upright guide-plate having guides for each neighboring pair of seats, said guide-plate being disposed above the horizontal plane of the seat and in a verical plane back of saidfioor pivots, and means upon the seats at their rear for slidably engaging said guides.

In testimony whereof I alfixrny signature in presence of tWo witnesses;

EDWARD LINDOl/V l/Vitnesses CLEM Vv XVAGNER, ADA LAW. 

